University System News:
Tifton CEO
ABAC Expects Nearly 4,000 Students on First Day of Classes
Staff Report
Here they come. Some with masks. Some attending classes for the first time since early spring. Others getting a taste of college life as true freshmen. The students are back at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College for the opening day of the fall semester on Aug. 12. “There’s nothing like the excitement of the first day of fall classes,” Dr. David Bridges, opening his record-setting 15th fall term as the ABAC President, said. “ …ABAC and the other 25 colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia (USG) delivered on-line instruction for the final weeks of the spring semester and the entirety of the summer term because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, nearly 4,000 students attending ABAC classes this fall semester in Tifton, Moultrie, Bainbridge, Blakely, and Donalsonville have not been inside a classroom since March 13.
Pike County Times
Gordon State Welcomes New Spirit Mark; Stag Embraces College History, Future Aspirations
Mascots play an important role in an institution’s identity and have been known to change over time. As Gordon State College continues its story, a new ambassador and spirit mark were revealed Wednesday during the college’s Student Success Summit. The primary GSC spirit mark logo includes a stag head with the Gordon State Highlanders wordmark and is symbolic of the institution’s history, steadfast reputation for excellence, inclusion and commitment. The circle G logo will be used for the academic face of the college. Gordon’s full name and mascots may have changed over the years, but the institution’s characteristics and diverse culture have not changed. …The incorporation of the stag head into the new spirit mark is symbolic of the badge worn by the Gordon Highlanders, who were a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years after two Scottish Regiments merged in 1881. A crest with a stag and the motto “Bydand,” which means “Stand and Fight,” was also a featured part of the badge.
accessWDUN
Following record summer enrollment, UNG “on track” for fall
By Tara Brolley Anchor/Reporter
Following record high enrollment in summer courses, the University of North Georgia is “on track” for the upcoming fall semester, according to Jim Conneely, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at UNG. Conneely said that university officials cannot rely on their usual predictors to determine enrollment for the upcoming semester. “We’re going based on what we’re trying to anticipate looking at our trends,” Conneely said. “But recognizing that some of the metrics we’ve used in the past are probably not as equitable this fall because of COVID.” Fall classes will begin Aug. 17 and will be a combination of in-person and online.
WSB Radio
UGA President updates guidelines on face coverings
By Abby Jessen
On the afternoon of Aug. 6, 2020, University of Georgia President Jere Morehead released the following statement to faculty and staff members at the school. Phase three of re-entry for faculty and staff begins on Aug. 10, and students are expected to return to class for in-person instruction on Aug. 20. Masks are required. Here is the statement:
Updated Guidelines on face coverings:
The University System of Georgia (USG) and UGA are requiring that all faculty, staff, students, and visitors wear an appropriate face covering while inside campus facilities/buildings where six feet social distancing may not always be possible. Through consultation with the Medical Oversight Task Force and the Preventative Measures Advisory Board, UGA has determined that face coverings must be worn in certain areas inside University facilities at all times because it is not always possible to meet social distancing requirements (i.e., at least six feet of physical distance from others can be maintained in all directions at all times) due to the typical occupant densities that occur throughout campus. …
Globe Newswire
President Kelly announces pillars of UWG’s strategic vision
The University of West Georgia has begun the process of strategic planning for the future of the university with a strategic vision expressed by its president. Dr. Brendan B. Kelly, UWG president, announced the three pillars of his vision for the university – relevance, competitiveness and placemaking – in a video address to campus and community stakeholders. UWG will host a virtual event – titled “Becoming UWG: A Virtual Gathering on Strategic Planning” – on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. During the event, Kelly will inform attendees of the steps of the strategic planning process and how they can become engaged with setting goals and imperatives for the university. The event can be streamed on UWG’s Livestream page.
The Augusta Chronic
Atlanta’s Turner Field to get new name
By Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service
Atlanta’s Turner Field is getting a new name. The baseball stadium the Atlanta Braves used for nearly 20 years converted three years ago to a football stadium for Georgia State University is to be rechristened Center Parc Credit Union Stadium. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ Real Estate and Facilities Committee approved the new name Thursday, the result of a sponsorship agreement with the Atlanta Postal Credit Union. The agreement calls for the credit union to pay a sponsorship fee of nearly $21.6 million in 15 annual installments. …The full Board of Regents is expected to approve the renaming resolution next week.
Gwinnett Daily Post
University of Georgia president Jere Morehead named to NCAA’s highest governance body
From Staff Reports
University of Georgia president Jere Morehead has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Board of Governors and Board of Directors, it was announced Thursday by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. The NCAA Board of Governors is the highest governance body in the NCAA and is composed of institutional chief executive officers that oversee association-wide issues. The board is charged with ensuring that each division operates consistently with the basic purposes, fundamental policies and general principles of the Association. Morehead is now one of 16 voting board members.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Group holds ‘die-in’ protest against Georgia colleges’ return plans
By Eric Stirgus
ATHENS — More than 50 graduate students, faculty members and some family members held a silent demonstration Thursday at the University of Georgia to voice their concerns about plans by the school and the state’s university system to reopen their campuses for the fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. The demonstrators laid on the grass in the midday sun for an hour — with face coverings — in front of the university’s administration building as part of a “die-in”. The group’s demands include more COVID-19 testing and allowing any faculty members to teach remotely if they desire. The schools have options to set up their own testing plans, or to conduct testing with the help of state public health officials or community partners. Faculty currently have to get approval from their school to teach remotely.
Inside Higher Ed
Housing Developer Pressured Universities on Fall Plans
Company that builds and maintains student housing sent letters to public universities in at least two states in May as they weighed in-person fall classes, reminding them of hundreds of millions of debt.
By Rick Seltzer
Corvias is a privately owned company based in East Greenwich, R.I., that contracts with higher education institutions and the U.S. military as a housing developer and landlord. The company counts more than 100,000 beds and 48 million square feet of space under management at over 30 properties across the country. Its portfolio of college and university projects spans well over a dozen campuses mostly across the nation’s capital, South and Midwest. But most of the campuses where it provides student housing services are within the University System of Georgia. The system hired the company to design, build, renovate, manage and maintain student housing under a decades-long agreement that was worth $517 million in 2014. The agreement cut the university’s student-housing debt by almost $300 million, it said at the time, and had the company developing 3,683 new beds and managing 6,195 existing ones across nine different system institutions. …The letter to the Georgia system goes further, adding a paragraph saying the Board of Regents does not have the unilateral right to prevent students from living on campus, discourage students from living on campuses or exercise contractual rights that have a material impact on Corvias’s operation and management.
Growing America
UGA’s Dario Chavez Spotlighted in Fruit Growers News 40 under 40 Class
University of Georgia researcher Dario Chavez has been named to the Fruit and Vegetable 40 Under 40 Class of 2020 by Fruit Growers News. The prestigious honor places Chavez within a small group of young professionals who are making remarkable contributions within the industry. A native of Riobamba, Ecuador, and part of an accomplished farm with a lineage spanning four generations, Chavez began his stint at UGA in 2014 as a researcher and UGA Cooperative Extension specialist. He has since implemented groundbreaking research focusing on plant production and environmental sustainability with a focus on one of Georgia’s key crops — peaches.
Southeast Produce Weekly
Vidalia Onion Business Council Awards Courtney Wilkes Memorial Agriculture & Veterinary Scholarship
By SPW Staff
The Vidalia Onion Business Council has awarded its 2020 Courtney Wilkes Memorial Agriculture and Veterinary Scholarship to Tyler Hunter of Southeast Bulloch High School. The scholarship award of $1,000 was first awarded in 2012 and has been given each year since. It is the desire of the Vidalia onion industry that the scholarship should serve as a positive tribute to this bright, friendly young woman. …Tyler was a dual enrollment student at Georgia Southern University and was the 2019-20 FFA chapter president as well as an honor graduate. Tyler plans to attend Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College after graduating high school with plans to major in animal science and miner in agribusiness.
Other News:
Variety
Georgia Mandates Audits for Film and TV Tax Credit
By Gene Maddaus
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill that mandates audits for productions claiming the film and TV tax credit, following a state report finding lax controls in the program. Georgia has by far the largest tax credit for film production in the United States, awarding a record $860 million in credits last year. But it was one of only three states — along with Arkansas and Maine — that did not require state or third-party audits to claim the tax credit. Kemp signed HB 1037 on Tuesday, and it will go into effect on Jan. 1. …The new law requires that productions must first be “commercially distributed” in “multiple markets” to receive the bonus.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Aug. 6, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 4,026 | Deaths have been confirmed in 153 counties. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 204,895 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Trump Signals Aid for Student Loan Borrowers
In a tweet, the president said he might use his executive powers to provide relief.
By Kery Murakami
President Trump said in a tweet Thursday that he is looking into using his executive powers to continue providing help for those with student loans during the pandemic. It’s unclear if he has the authority or if it was simply a move to try to break the logjam in congressional negotiations over another coronavirus relief bill. As congressional leaders have struggled in recent days to resolve differences over unemployment benefits in the next aid package, the president had signaled that he is considering using his executive powers to continue providing help for those without jobs, delay collecting payroll taxes and continue a moratorium on evictions. But he hadn’t mentioned student loan borrowers.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By Audrey Williams June
Enrolling a freshman class whose members hail from every state — and any number of foreign countries — has long been a point of pride for some institutions. But this academic year, colleges are focused on students’ hometowns for a reason that has nothing to do with the profile of the Class of 2024. That’s because some students — more than 400,000 of them — will be traveling to campus from states that are coronavirus hot spots. Take Florida, a Covid-19 epicenter, for example. In 2018, Florida exported more than 15,000 students to attend public and private four-year colleges in other states. Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, which have largely brought their infection rates under control, have put 34 states and Puerto Rico on their travel-advisory list (as of August 6), which calls for people arriving in the tri-state area to quarantine for 14 days.
Inside Higher Ed
COVID-19 Roundup: UNC Won’t Budge on Reopening
Chapel Hill rebuffs recommendations from county health officials to at least delay bringing students back to campus. Syracuse suspends students who didn’t social distance. Hopkins and UMass pull back on the fall.
By Doug Lederman
With classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill due to begin Monday and many students already moving back to campus, pressure on UNC administrators to delay the start of in-person instruction or adopt virtual learning for the fall is mounting — including from local officials. The director of the health department in Orange County, which contains Chapel Hill, urged UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz in a memorandum last week to restrict on-campus housing to students with significant need and to “consider virtual classes for the fall semester but at minimum begin the first 5 weeks of the semester with online instruction only.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Johns Hopkins Goes Fully Remote for Fall, Urges Students Not to Come to Campus
By Lindsay Ellis
The Johns Hopkins University on Thursday reversed plans to bring undergraduate students back for in-person classes, housing, or activities, urging them to stay away from Baltimore for the fall semester. Employees, the campus said, should expect to work from home through the end of the year. Previously Hopkins said an in-person undergraduate experience would be available “to all who want it.” Thursday’s announcement is the latest shoe to drop in a late-summer wave of announcements, one after the next, of scaled-back reopening plans. The decision by Johns Hopkins — with its deep endowment, breakthrough research on and tracking of the virus itself, and close ties to world-renowned medical services — demonstrates that even higher education’s heaviest hitting research universities may see their in-person plans stymied by Covid-19.